


The Best Years Of Our Lives

by fletchphoenix



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Trans Male Character, Trans Varian (Disney)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:34:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26363494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fletchphoenix/pseuds/fletchphoenix
Summary: Varian's back in high school after the infamous 'accident' in sophomore year, ready to start anew in Corona High.A certain blonde, however, is going to throw everything off course for him because, of course, things couldn't be that simple.
Relationships: Hugo/Varian (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms)
Comments: 41
Kudos: 70





	1. First Impressions, Worst Impressions

From the second Varian woke up, he knew it was going to be a bad day.

His alarm rang from under his pillow, him groaning and turning on his phone screen to shut it off, blinding light immediately shining straight into his eyes and leaving him frazzled for a second. He grumbled as he sat up, Ruddiger hissing in disapproval before sinking back into his slumber. Lucky bastard could sleep all day, but Varian? Nope. Varian had school. Brilliant. He’d gotten so used to being able to just lie in, not expected to attend for the last stretch of tenth grade after...the incident. Varian sat up and stretched, letting out a loud yawn before reaching to grab his clothes off the chair by his bed, it creaking in protest as he shuffled. Admittedly it was rather old - he might have to buy a new frame from Ikea or something like that. 

He stumbled around the darkened room, reaching for the curtains covering his window and pulling them open to give him a little bit of light. He liked his room - it was in the attic, so he had a whole story to himself and it was quite spacious, able to fit two desks in his room. One sported his papers and various textbooks he’d used to keep up with school, and the other an old TV monitor along with a Nintendo Switch connected to it. He’d play on it a lot after Rapunzel got it for his birthday, the console soon becoming addictive during his extended absence from school. He’d played it every time he’d finished his work...no matter now, he thought. He had to get ready to return to that..horrible place.

Once he was dressed in his blue shirt, a black undershirt and some jeans, he packed and grabbed his backpack and began to walk downstairs happily, sparing no glance to the different frames on the walls of the house. He trailed down the hall, opening the first door on the right and heading in quietly. In the kitchen stood Rapunzel, humming a small tune to herself and Eugene sleepily rested his forehead against the back of her neck and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. Varian sauntered in and dumped his bag on the floor, sitting at the table with a frown on his face. “Good morning to you too.” he muttered as Rapunzel plated his breakfast and handed it to him. “I still can’t believe you’re making me do this.” he commented as he ate.

“Look, Varian..please give it a chance. If it doesn’t go well, we can go back to learning from home just..please. You promised you’d try.” Rapunzel pleaded, sitting opposite him at the oak table, the faint sound of a clock ticking filling the background of their tense conversation. Varian let out a groan and a sigh before reluctantly agreeing, turning his head away as Rapunzel cheered happily. He knew it was time for him to go back, despite everything that happened, but he didn’t know if he could. Sophomore year was rough to say the least and he didn’t know if he could even face his peers after everything that had happened to him. Still, a promise was a promise, and if he did this, Eugene and Rapunzel promised he could use the basement as his own personal lab, so that was a bonus. 

“Okay kiddo, let's get you to school.” Eugene muttered sleepily, placing a kiss to his wife’s forehead with a soft smile as Varian followed him, his bag over his shoulder and sliding his headphones over his ears. He couldn’t really say he was excited - quite the contrary actually, dreading his return to the building, but he knew he had to do this for Eugene and Rapunzel’s sake. He just..prayed he wasn’t too far behind and that he’d be sat next to moderately decent people in his subjects. Last year, he was sat by Vex in English and she’d just bullied him the whole time, repeatedly calling him a nerd or short even though she was smaller than he was. He would hate to be sat beside her again, being as she made life hell for him. Of course there was no way she could’ve known what was going on in his life at the time, but it still sucked to have someone be a constant insult machine towards him relentlessly.

He slid into the passenger’s seat, pressing the door lock and leaning back in his chair silently. Turning his head, he saw Eugene’s eyes boring into him, instinctively flinching back from him at the look. “Eugene..what are you doing.” he questioned, the man still looking at him with his lips tilted into a frown. Was there something on his face? Did he have a nosebleed or something? Had he offended Eugene? 

“Kid, don’t feel pressured, alright? I get it’s been rough and a long time since you’ve been back to school, so if it gets too much for you, please just let me know and I’ll come pick you up. We just..we really hope you can do it. It’s what you need after being alone for so long.” he explained as he began to drive, opening the windows to let the August air breeze through the window and blow Varian’s hair around wildly. Varian shrugged and looked out the window, playing with the hem of his shirt quietly. He was sure he could handle it, after all it’s not as if he could just suddenly get killed on his first day! Right? Ugh, now that he thought about it, it was always a possibility and he could just spontaneously die on the spot in the middle of chemistry class-

“V. I know you’re overthinking now. I can literally hear the cogs in your head going wild. Just relax, okay?” Eugene broke his train of thought, a slight smile on his face. “You’re gonna be fine, trust me, kid.” He reassured him as they pulled up outside the towering, intimidating building Varian knew oh so well as Corona High. His breathing started to quicken. Could he do this? He didn’t know if he could do this anymore, the mere thought of going back made him sick to his stomach. He doubled over in his seat, Eugene leaning over to trace reassuring circles onto his back and whispering comforting words to him. “Kid, don’t freak out. It’s just a building..okay? You’ll be fine. Trust me. Just breathe.” Varian regained his breath and nodded to Eugene, exiting the car and heading towards the looming building, fear building a deep, dark and seemingly endless pit in his gut. He took one last deep breath before his hands reached out, pushing open the immaculately cleaned glass doors and throwing himself into the fray.

Immediately, he went towards his home room. From the look of the note he had, it was Room 256 with Mrs Ophelia Thorne. At least she sounded nice on the phone call, he recalled as he called to ask about his reintroduction back to school. He was apparently having an escort between lessons called Nuru, even though he’d insisted that he didn’t need that, having been to the school before. She persisted, however, saying that she’ll be able to ‘show him the changes around school’ and ‘be like a friend towards him’ as if he needed that. He’d agreed so he could get off the phone and go upstairs to continue with the work he’d started in his free time. It was on the old study of alchemy and, though research had been discontinued, he loved the sound of it. Transmutation fascinated him to no end, so the research never felt strenuous. However, he knew it wasn’t really that interesting to most. Still, he loved the subject with all his heart and would for as long as he lived.

He kept walking down the halls, weaving through people before standing in front of Room 256, his hand moving to grasp the doorknob. He twisted it slowly and gently opened it, twenty or so pairs of eyes instantly fixating on him along with the chocolate brown eyes of a medium sized woman with matching wavy hair to the shade of her eyes. “Oh, you must be Varian! Welcome sweetheart, your seat is on the third row, second seat in! Next to Nuru and Zander please!” she cheered in her sing-song, upbeat voice. He could’ve sworn she was a princess if she wasn’t a school teacher, alas he walked to his seat, dumping his bag on the floor and sitting down at the desk. He looked to either side of him in silence.

The boy to the right of him had clearly dyed, vibrant red hair and his eyes fixated on his phone hidden under the desk. His ears were littered with various piercing, the only ones he really noticed and recognised were the lobe, helix and industrial. His clothes consisted of a red and black sweater, cuffed jeans and some rather large boots on his feet, a black, denim jacket covered in patches hung over the back of the chair. He looked pretty cool, his name apparently Zander, according to Mrs Thorne. He raised his eyebrow, watching as the boy looked over at him and raised his eyebrow. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” he muttered before turning back towards his phone. Varian’s cheeks flushed when he realised he was staring before turning away to look at the girl on his left, only to find she was staring at him. 

The girl in question, Nuru, had a dark blue turtleneck sweater and a hair clip shaped like a star holding back a small section of hair from her face. She also wore a grey shirt and tights along with high top sneakers on her feet, coloured the same blue as the sweatshirt she was wearing. She looked at him with wide, orange eyes and a wide smile. “Hi, I’m Nuru and I’m gonna be showing you around. Well, I suppose you know that already being as Mrs Thorne didn’t need to explain..your name is Varian, right? That's a cool name. Sounds a bit like variable or variant. It’s unique.” she trailed off rambling, Varian’s mind losing its interest in her until she laid his timetable out in front of him. “Oh, so you have chemistry first with Mr Crick. He’s really nice - Zander’s dad, actually. And then you have Mrs Crick for English, but she just lets everyone call her Elora, her first name. Her and Mr Crick are married! They got married a while ago actually-”

As Nuru went off on her second tangent about school, a smile made its way onto Varian’s face. Finally the day was starting to get better! Chemistry for his first period was like a dream come true, especially with Mr Crick. Though he was a young teacher, Mr Crick, or Jeremy as his mother used to call him, was very close friends with his mother before the incident. He could remember him being a sweet guy, albeit a little awkward and socially inept sometimes, but still a sweetheart. He always offered to give Varian extra work if he wanted it or to just be someone to talk to. Although Varian never took him up on the latter offer, it was nice to know someone other than his family cared about how he was holding up. It was nice he got married too - he remembered Elora joining him when he was invited over to dinner sometimes and their kids coming too. 

The ringing of the bell in the hall made him rush to his feet, eager to get going to his lessons as Nuru took her time in packing her things up. “Can’t she just hurry up?” Varian murmured to himself as he waited impatiently for Nuru to be ready. As soon as she was, he bolted out of class and let Nuru pull him by his wrists past lockers and other students, a colourful and unique cast of characters. They’d walked past so many people, including Vex and a small, black haired boy dressed in a red hoodie that was far too big for him, but he didn’t seem to care in the slightest as he happily chatted to his friends. Varian took in his surroundings until Nuru abruptly stopped, him walking into her by accident. “Sorry-” he began.

“Here’s your classroom. I’ll come pick you up at the end to walk you to second period, but until then I’ll see you later!” She called out as she began jogging away. Elated, Varian opened the door and stepped over the threshold, relishing at the sight of a proper lab again. It was the one thing he’d missed about school, having all the proper equipment here as opposed to the ageing equipment he was stuck with at Rapunzel’s house. He smiled widely at the familiar sight of a lanky, raven haired man leaning back at his desk. Varian ran over with a smile.

“Hey Mr Crick!” he almost yelled, not realising how loud he was and the man flinching slightly. Varian bit the inside of his cheek, opening his mouth to apologise before the older man chuckled and shook his head. 

“I already know you’re gonna apologise, so don’t. There’s no need. It’s good to see you back in school, Varian.” he began, resting a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder with a smile on his face before looking away to his desk, picking up a sheet of paper and scanning it. “Okay, so you’re next to Hugo.” he declared after a few minutes, gesturing to a smug boy sitting at a desk. Varian raised his eyebrow, thanking Jeremy before moving away to sit down beside his new lab partner. 

“Hey there, hairstripe. The name’s Hugo. The pleasure is all yours.” the blonde said, looking at the onyx haired boy smugly. From the second Hugo spoke, Varian knew he was going to suffer this year, just like he had with Vex. Bleached blonde locks were tied into a ponytail, revealing an, in his opinion, terrible undercut underneath. Obnoxiously large glasses sat slightly tilted on his crooked nose, the eyes behind them an emerald green colour. He wore a moss green hoodie, a dandelion undershirt peeking out from underneath, along with baggy blue jeans and some sneakers that, just like Nuru’s, matched his hoodie. A thing that piqued his interest, however, was the boy’s prosthetic arm, sitting blatantly out on the table, Varian fixing his gaze onto it and tilting his head slightly.

“ Oh, that little thing? Well, it’s my prosthetic after I tragically lost my arm in the accident that killed my parents.” Hugo explained, dramatically leaning against Varian with the palm of his flesh hand pressed against his forehead. Great, Varian was next to a theatre kid. Just what he needed. “Tragic, right?” Hugo commented with a grin.

“Oh yes, oh so tragic.” Varian rolled his eyes and shoved the other boy off him, already ready to kill him. As much as he loved Mr Crick...why did he have to sit him next to the most dramatic annoyance on earth? As far as first impressions went, Hugo...really wasn’t making a good one at all. He glanced back over at the boy again, whose head was propped up by his right arm as he grinned at Varian. 

“Well, aren’t you gonna tell me your name, hairstripe?” he asked, leaning slightly closer into Varian’s personal space, causing him to cringe. This was going to be a VERY long year by the sound of things. 

“It’s Varian. And can you please stop calling me Hairstripe? It’s really, really annoying.” he commented, already annoyed with the boy sitting next to him. He really didn’t want his favourite lesson to be ruined by an inconvenience like him. 

“Mmm..nah. I think I’m gonna keep calling you hairstripe. It sounds better than whatever you said.” He smiled and turned his attention to the front as Mr Crick began the lesson. Varian leaned against the desk and groaned in annoyance, resting his head on the table and shutting his eyes as the boy beside him kept poking him with his pen under the table. This was going to be a very long lesson. 

\---------------------------------------

By the time the lesson was done, he just wanted to go home. Hugo was literally just Vex, but less insulting and more genuinely annoying. Oh well, at least that was the only time he’d see him all week. Sure, it was his favourite lesson with his favourite teacher in the world, but at least he only sat with him for one lesson this week. 

That was until Mr Crick started talking.

“Okay class, we have a senior project, so I’m gonna be announcing the pairs!” Mr Crick declared as he brought out a list. Varian zoned out as he waited for his name to be called. Finally, he’d be able to work with someone else other than this narcissistic, rude, egocentric- 

“Varian Ruddiger, you will be working with Hugo Atkinson!” 

Varian felt his heart drop and Hugo’s face twisted into a smirk.

Oh no.

No way was he going to work with Hugo Atkinson on a school project, involving the other coming to his house regularly and talking in a close proximity out of school hours even though he hated the guts of the guy sitting next to him. He stood up as everyone started to leave, making his way to Mr Crick. “Mr Crick, you can’t be serious I-I can’t work with him! He’s annoying and-and don’t even get me started on how goddamn dramatic he is!” he began to rant before Jeremy’s hands rested on his shoulders. 

“Varian, you’re a bright kid and, surprisingly, so is Hugo. You two will make a really good team just..please give him a chance. Okay?” he pleaded, Varian giving in with his arguments and nodding in submission. He didn’t believe for a second that Hugo possessed more than one brain cell, but hey, miracles can apparently happen, right? He reassured himself as he headed out of the classroom to find Nuru.

Nuru who was currently insulting Hugo outside the classroom. 

“Oh my god, Atkinson, you’re such an inconvenience-oh hey Varian! Are you ready for the best lesson ever with the best teacher ever?” she said with a smile, grabbing Varian’s wrist in a clamp like grip and pulling him along the hall, the students seemingly parting to make a path for them. Much to Varian’s misfortune, Hugo followed after them with his stupid, smug grin on his face. 

“Heya hairstripe..so we’re together for the project? How about you come over mine tonight and we can start working tonight? I’ll pick you up at the gates if you want.” he said with a grin and a subtle wink, causing Varian to cringe.

“How about you come over to my place? My sister will want me back, since..y'know, first day back and all.” he explained, praying Hugo would agree. Luckily he did and relented in his following, letting Nuru drag him along to the english classrooms. The smaller boy let out a relieved sigh, focusing on Nuru and picking up on sections of her incessant rambling, something he was shockingly used to now. 

“Oh, he's a massive playboy, probably fooled around with most girls and boys in the school. He treats them like shit too - uses them till he gets bored, then moves onto the next pretty thing that he can find.” she rolled her eyes and let go of Varian’s wrist, him speeding up to match her pace. “Here we are. I hope you have a great lesson, V and I’ll see you later!” She ran off and, once again, Varian stepped into the class and was told exactly where to go. 

The rest of the day went swimmingly. No Hugo..just complete and utter peace. Sure, he had Nuru to drag him along, but he’d met Zander’s twin sister, Isla and she was an utter sweetheart (he sat by her now in math). He’d also seen Vex in the hall a few times, but as usual she paid him no mind and just continued doing her own thing. Typical Vex behaviour. And now it was the time he was dreading - the end of the day.

He made his way through the halls, his eyes focused on the glazed floor before arriving in front of the familiar glass doors and seeing a familiar, lanky blonde standing outside. He waved to Varian, a smirk on his face as the boy left the building. “What took you so long, hairstripe? I was thinking you’d abandoned me.” He asked, laughing as they began to walk side by side.

“Got held up - let's just go.” Varian muttered in response, kicking a rock across the sidewalk. All it was was a few weeks working together after school. It would fly by, right? He took one look up at the smirking blonde and frowned.

At least he hoped so.


	2. Study Date With Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugo and Varian have a study (totally not) date and talk about a few things.

As Varian trudged along, he felt himself slowly starting to slip closer towards just strangling the boy who was rambling beside him, hands in his pockets and laughing obnoxiously loud at his own jokes. Hugo Atkinson may possibly be the most annoying, egotistical guy he’s ever met in his life and he was sure he hated him with his whole being. He didn’t get how a human being could annoy him so much that he’d want to just disappear on the spot, but here he was.

His hatred intensified as the other wrapped his arms around the smaller boy’s shoulders in a vice-like grip, pulling him closer. “Hey hairstripe, are we gonna be there yet? And are you okay? You’ve been staring at the floor for the past twenty minutes. Are you really that in love with me that you can’t focus around me?” he added with a wide grin.

Varian’s cheeks immediately flushed and he shoved Hugo away as hard as he could, the other boy merely stumbling and cackling with laughter. “As if I’d have a crush on you! You’re-ugh! You’re insufferable!” he complained as he sped up his pace, Hugo struggling slightly to keep up. Okay, now Varian definitely wanted to kill him. It wasn’t fair how the taller boy thought he could just- just torment him on his first official day back at school and get away with it! Mr Crick had better be right about Hugo being smart, or Varian was gonna lose it with the other. His patience was already wearing thin - so he just prayed for Hugo’s sake that it didn’t run out almost immediately.

He finally halted his relentless pace, turning and walking through the pearly white, wooden gates to Rapunzel and Eugene’s house as Hugo stood in shock and stared up at the building in awe. It was only a quaint house with a tiny garden out front, the couple having moved there after their wedding and Varian joining them after...everything that happened last year, but Hugo stared at it as though it was the largest, most beautiful mansion in the world. “Nice place, hairstripe…” he whistled as he trailed after Varian, the raven haired boy rolling his eyes in response and praying that their little ‘study session’ would fly by just as fast as the rest of the day had. He wasn’t sure if he could put up with another few hours of Hugo teasing him and lounging over him in the middle of class. It was probably to embarrass him, and it was sure as hell working. 

He fumbled with his keys for a second before unlocking the door and walking into the cooling air of the house. Maybe it was the heat making him all hot and bothered about Hugo - after all, his mother had always told him how he was more irritable in the summer months and had a tendency as a child to just curl up into a ball on the floor of their kitchen and cry because he found it unbearable. It made sense as much as he hated to admit it, sometimes he’d get the urge to do it in Rapunzel’s kitchen before remembering he was sixteen now and, contrary to popular belief, couldn’t just lie on the kitchen floor and cry his eyes out over all his problems. Instead, he’d have to do it in his bedroom. Now, Hugo’s presence in his life gave him something justifiable to cry over. Great!

“Hey sis, me and Hugo are going upstairs to work on a project-” he yelled, grabbing Hugo’s wrist to pull him up the oak stairs and to his room before Rapunzel could ambush him and pull him into a lengthy conversation of ‘how did you meet?’ and ‘he’s nice Varian, could make a lovely friend’, because truth be told, he didn’t want to be friends with the arrogant son of a- Light pattering of what sounded like bare feet sounded from the kitchen and he let out a loud groan as Rapunzel bounded into the hallway and smiled up at him and Hugo. Oh no.

“Hello Hugo, I’m Rapunzel! It’s a pleasure to meet you!” she declared, sticking out her hand with a freakishly wide smile on her face, clearly putting Hugo off. Varian almost felt bad for the other until he remembered the relentless teasing and rambling on the way here, a smile building on his face as Hugo’s expression of discomfort. “Not a fan of handshakes? That’s fine! I’ll call you both down when dinner is ready, okay?” she told them both before turning on her heel and skipping towards the kitchen. Varian gave Hugo no time to recover before grabbing his hand and pulling him along upstairs to his bedroom in the attic, ascending the two flights of stairs and pulling the cord to turn the light on. 

“You sleep in the attic? What kind of Cinderella situation is this, hairstripe?” Hugo questioned, already making himself at home by dropping his bag beside Varian’s bed and lounging on it. “See something you like?” He teased before Varian’s face, for the second time today, flushed red. “I’m teasing, hairstripe. Obviously you do. But, I’ve gotta admit, it’s a nice set up. The two desks are a nice decorative touch.”

“Shut up.” Varian quipped back, sitting at his desk and resting his forehead against it. They hadn’t even started and he’d already thought of all the ways he could kill Hugo, all of them seeming like pretty good options at this point in time. “So, we’ve gotta do a project on green chemistry, and the extraction of biodiesel and biofuels. That’ll be..interesting, right?” he muttered aloud, raising his head to look at Hugo, who just frowned in confusion. “You...you get what I’m talking about, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Of course I get what you’re talking about, I’m a genius. I just got a bit confused at why in the living hell you’ve got a raccoon on your desk and why he looks as though he’s going to kill me.” Hugo stated bluntly, pointing his index finger to the pile of papers behind Varian. The other turned in his chair and gasped happily, pulling the raccoon into his arms and peppering kisses over the furry little angel’s face. 

“Ruddiger!” he cried happily, the raccoon nuzzling his cheek against his owner’s and sitting on his shoulders. “Sorry, this is Ruddiger, my pet raccoon! I saved him from a bear trap when I was fourteen and the little guy’s stuck with me ever since! Pretty loyal, right?” he chuckled, his smile contorting into a frown at the unreadable expression on Hugo’s face. Oh no, now he’d just given Hugo more reasons to bully him. Brilliant. He couldn’t believe he’d just so openly admitted to having a goddamn pet raccoon in front of the one guy who made fun of him the most!   
  


“That’s cute.” Hugo said, almost whispering.

“I-I’m sorry, what?”

“It’s cute. The raccoon, I mean. A bit weird you named him after your last name, but hey. That’s pretty sweet how you got him. I have a pet mouse called Olivia at home, and she’s one of my favourite things in the world if I’m being honest.” Hugo shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck with his prosthetic arm subconsciously, his gaze drifting towards the floor as Varian swore a light blush came to those pale, freckled cheeks of his. “Anyway-” Hugo interrupted, standing and pulling the chair from the other desk over to sit beside Varian. “What are we gonna do for this project then, hairstripe?” 

“Oh, I have a few ideas-” Varian began, proceeding to explain all the thoughts and ideas culminating in his head for various different aspects of the topic they could cover - the need for biofuels, alternative energy sources, how to make a sustainable fuel supply..you name it, he said it, along with different ways to present it, such as papers, a powerpoint or something along those lines. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling he was being stared at, the thought making him feel slightly uneasy. He turned his head slightly, his eyes meeting Hugo’s who simply stared at him, his head propped up by his flesh hand with a stupid smile on his face, instantly disappearing as soon as Varian looked over and straightening his back. “Perfect ideas, hairstripe. Absolutely perfect.” he added as he looked away and covered his mouth to feign a cough. 

Varian raised an eyebrow, a frown forming on his face before hesitantly turning his attention back to the brainstorm of notes he’d written on the page, however he couldn’t bring himself to fully focus again. Why was Hugo staring at him like that? Was there something on his face? Was he just really invested in what Varian had to say? It was weird to say the least - having the guy he hated stare at him. It was probably one of his tricks to make Varian let his guard down even more, Nuru did say he was an infamous playboy in school and dated around a lot. Yep, that was most definitely it, he concluded as the boys began to write and work together.

Surprisingly, they worked extremely well together - akin to a well-oiled machine or a pair of old lab partners. Hugo was much smarter than he let on, even better than Varian in some areas of the topic and, although he let out a few quips every now and then, he really wasn’t a pain to work with and was..extremely co-operative and receptive to whatever ideas Varian had. He’d give his genuine thoughts with no insults to Varian’s intelligence and seemed to really respect his ideas. It felt like an entirely different guy to the one in chemistry class only a few hours prior, a soft smile drifting onto his face as he sat there and wrote, before he and Hugo locked eyes in silence. 

“DINNER!” Rapunzel called from downstairs, breaking the trance the two boys had been placed into and causing them both to hurriedly stand and rush downstairs quietly. Varian didn’t understand - it's gotta be Hugo putting an act on. It didn’t make any sense on how he was so different to how he was in chemistry. Nonetheless, the pair entered the kitchen. “Hey boys! How’s the studying going?” Rapunzel questioned from her seat at the table, Eugene sitting beside her with a smile on his face, presumably happy that Varian finally had a friend at school. 

“It’s been fine, Rapunzel. Going swimmingly. Hairstripe here has plenty of great ideas.” Hugo declared with a grin, reaching over with his flesh arm to ruffle the boy’s hair, who ducked as fast as he could. Unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough, his raven locks being messed up by the blonde. “How did you even get that streak anyway? Did ya just get bored when you were fourteen and do it to be ‘emo’?” he teased, nudging Varian and sitting down at the table. 

“It’s natural, okay? Don’t ask how - I don’t know either. Probably my mom’s fault.” he shrugged and leaned over his plate, shovelling food into his mouth and trying to ignore any conversations taking place at the table. Hugo, on the other hand, relished in the attention Rapunzel and Eugene were giving him, showing off his achievements in school and how superior he was at..literally everything. He’d managed to hear that his mother ran a small company in town, that he worked for her and she was a single mom after his dad walked out on them. He also heard that he had over a dozen awards in school for multiple different clubs and activities, Varian listening in fascination. He had no idea Hugo was this..versatile. It was pretty damn amazing in his eyes. 

After dinner had finished, Varian and Hugo lounged about on his bed in the attic after playing some video games together, waiting for Hugo’s mom to pick him up before Varian finally broke the comfortable silence after a few minutes. “How did you lose your arm?” he blurted out. He wasn’t really thinking when he said it, if he was being honest. He knew it was probably a sensitive topic to Hugo and talking about it would probably bring back some unwanted memories for the other boy. Clearly it did, as evident from Hugo’s features twisting into a look of sadness. “I..I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer, I was just curious and wasn’t thinking and-”

“No, no. It’s alright. I thought you’d ask sooner if I’m being honest.” He let out a little nervous, breathy chuckle, turning on the bed to look at Varian quietly. “I..kinda lied about my childhood. Donella adopted me. I was six, and me, my mom and dad were driving in the middle of winter. I got excited about something stupid - a deer or something like that. It threw my dad off, he swerved and...the car crashed. My parents..they didn’t make it out alive. I did, but uh..paid the consequences with my arm being severed from the shoulder. So Donella took me in and made me a new arm. And voila, here we are.” his voice died out into a murmur before he shrugged nonchalantly. “Can I hear about the story between you and your parents or is that too personal? I kinda figured Rapunzel and Fitzherbert weren’t your parents so...” 

Varian paused before letting out a sigh. “You told me your tragic backstory, so it’s only fair I tell you mine, right?” he responded and laid on his back, staring at the ceiling. “Well, my mom died when I was younger, which left me and my dad alone. When I was fifteen, my dad got sick. Really...really sick. He was getting to the point where it just wasn’t fair on him to keep him alive, so..we made the decision to stop with his treatment and let him pass away, so now I live with Rapunzel and Eugene. But..there isn’t a day where I don’t miss him and regret my decision.” he sighed, shocked when Hugo pulled him into a tight embrace in silence.

He wasn’t used to the feeling of someone else other than Rapunzel or Eugene wrapping their arms around him and pulling him closer, but..it felt nice, comforting even. Just lying there in Hugo’s embrace. It felt right, he thought, as he laid there satisfied in the other boy’s arms, so close he could hear Hugo’s heart thudding in his chest, grounding him to the room they were in. It was different, but a good different that Varian didn’t want to give up just yet, subconsciously cuddling closer to the blonde before-

“Hugo! Your mother is here!” Rapunzel called from downstairs, Hugo quickly sitting bolt upright and looking down at Varian, a twinge of sadness on his face. Even Varian felt a pang of sadness on his heartstrings as the boy moved off his bed, though he quickly dismissed it.

“Hey, its uh-its been fun. Next time we can go to mine if you feel comfortable. Anyway-see you later.” he said with a smile, heading towards the door before Varian lunged forward and grabbed his wrist. “Wait. You’ll need this.” he muttered, writing his phone number down onto Hugo’s flesh forearm, Hugo’s skin warm to the touch. “Give me a text, alright?” he said with a smile, his eyes locking onto Hugo’s emerald ones. Were they always that vibrant?

“Aw, don’t miss me too much, hairstripe.” he teased. Okay. Back to the teasing again, thought Varian, a loud and annoyed groan leaving his lips as Hugo smirked and turned away from him. “Okay, I’ll see you around. Have a good night.” he waved and disappeared around the corner, descending the two flights of stairs and, after twenty minutes, Varian heard the front door to the house shut.

Immediately, he flopped back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. Well, that was an experience. He’d made his first enemy, somehow managed to see that enemy as someone completely different to who he initially thought and then gave said-enemy his phone number. Huh. Maybe Hugo wasn’t as bad as he’d initially thought, he pondered as he laid back on his bed. A small ding broke him from his thoughts, pulling his phone from his pocket and registering the number as Hugo.

**Hugo : Hey hairstripe, it's me. Your absolute favourite person in the whole wide world.**

**Varian : Ha. You wish you were, dweeb.**

**Hugo : *gasp* INSULTING ME??** **  
** **Hugo : You wound me, hairstripe. Will you keep relentlessly tearing down my pride?**

**Varian : mmm,,,let me think about it**

**Varian : Yep. I will.**

**Hugo : Aha, love you too.**

**Hugo : Anyway, I’ve gotta dash for work and all. See you tomorrow, sweetcheeks.**

**Varian : See ya, twerp.**

“Sooo...he was nice!” Rapunzel called from the doorway, Varian dropping his phone and instantly losing the ghost of a smile on his face. He hadn’t realised she was there, her smug expression and the way she leaned against the doorframe with her arms folded made him cringe. 

“Y’know knocking exists, right? That's a thing that people do. And yes, he’s nice around you guys, but gives me hell at school.” Varian groaned, knowing full well Hugo was going to treat him the same as he had while they were at school instead of the soft side he’d revealed to Varian that, admittedly, Varian much preferred to the suave persona the other had put on. It felt more genuine - the way he acted tonight. It felt like he was really seeing the real Hugo Atkinson in all his glory. 

“Yeah I know. He does seem nice though. Okay buddy, me and Eugene will be downstairs if you need us, alright? Love you, Varian!” She assured before turning and heading down towards the first floor as Hugo had done only a few minutes prior, her brunette hair bouncing on her shoulders as she walked with her usual slight skip in her step. 

Varian laid back once again with a satisfied smile, letting Ruddiger curl up into a small ball on his chest and absentmindedly, he reached down and trailed his hand across the raccoon’s fur, lost in thought. Maybe this year wouldn’t be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am a simp for these boys <3


	3. You And I Have Good Chemistry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One day closer to the deadline, one day more with the insufferable blonde!

_ “You came back-” Varian said with a tearful smile, cuts littering his face as he sat on the hard oak floor of the library. The very floor Hugo was sprinting across to slide against and pull the younger boy into his arms. He didn’t want to let go of the boy in front of him, not now, not ever. He muttered apologies - for what, he didn’t know - he just knew he’d hurt the raven haired boy he was currently holding in an embrace that was being returned just as passionately. _

_ “Of course I did, Varian. I’m not..gonna leave you here.” he confessed, his hands fixing Varian’s teal waistcoat, the other gently pushing his hands down to stop him. Loving eyes met his, the crack in his glasses slightly obscuring his vision. That didn’t matter though - at least the younger boy was safe.  _

_ He wasn’t sure who’d started it, but sure enough they were both leaning in, extremely close. “Hugo…” Varian’s voice was barely a whisper as his hand moved to rest upon the blonde’s cheek. Only a little more- _

“HUGO!” Donella yelled as she opened the door, startling the emerald eyed boy, before he groaned in annoyance and pulled his sheets over his head as Donella opened his curtains, letting in the sunlight which broke him from his VERY riveting dream about an Eternal Library. His brain neglected to remind him of the fact him and Varian were extremely close and how his rude awakening had interrupted a very intimate moment between the two - probably for the best. 

“Geez, Don. I was getting up.” He muttered as he pulled the covers back to grab his glasses, pushing them up his nose before checking his alarm clock. One glance. Two glances. “It’s 7:15am. I’m not even late. Why are you waking me up?” he moaned and laid back, his head finding comfort in the pillows and his eyes watching the grey haired woman roll her eyes and fold her arms in annoyance, though an exasperated smile on her features said otherwise. 

“Well, you need to start getting up earlier.” she stated, heading towards the bed. “Besides, your phone alarm has been going off since half six and I’m sick of hearing that hellish ringtone of yours.” Donella used a cold hand to push back his fringe and place a gentle, motherly kiss to his forehead before ruffling his hair gently and heading towards the doorway. The slight click of the heels on her boots created a comforting tempo, syncopated with the ticking of the clock on his wall. “Get ready, okay Hugo?” 

“Yeah, alright mom. Oh! My study partner is coming over tonight by the way. His name’s Varian. He’s new.” he explained, his voice crescendoing into a shout as his mother descended the stairs. Once he was sure she’d heard him, he began getting dressed, selecting his moss green hoodie, jeans and some random shirt to go with it. Not as if it mattered anyway - he didn’t plan on taking off the hoodie today. After all, the only time he’d take it off was for chemistry, and that was second period. Hugo pulled on his clothes, strolling to the mirror placed on his desk and fixing his hair and glasses.

The start of the day was a breeze - Donella had dropped him off at the entrance and as he walked down the hall, he could hear the usual gossip. Something about a kid called Leon getting suspended for homophobic slurs against Mr Crick’s kid - oh well, at least it wasn’t him, he noted as he pushed open the door to Room 106, Mrs Crick’s room. “Morning Hugo,” Elora called, not even having to look up from her book to know it was him, “Take your seat, you’re late, as usual.” 

“Sorry Miss, can’t say it won’t happen again though!” he called as he took his seat before Isla, who was literally bouncing up and down in excitement. His eyes trailed up and down her body in silence, his right eyebrow slowly rising. Wow. She looked happy to say the bare minimum. Hell, she was even wearing her rainbow socks - ones she’d specifically told Hugo she was wearing if she was feeling especially happy. “Uh..hey there, Isla. Are you okay?-”

“Yes! I asked Nuru out yesterday and she said yes! I honestly can’t believe it!” she giggled in her sing-song voice, each word sounding like a melody to an undiscovered song. A grin moved onto his face. So Nuru and one of his best friend’s were dating, huh? What an interesting revelation, he’d thought as he leaned forward against his desk, propping his head up with his hand. He just knew he could use this for blackmail against Nuru...or some form of teasing. Well, he was gonna have fun. 

“That's interesting, Isla..tell me more..”

\--------------------------------

“He did what?!” Nuru almost yelled, sitting bolt upright in her seat as Varian leant over to shush her. She couldn’t believe it. Hugo motherfucking Atkinson was simping over Varian Ruddiger? This was..a revelation! A hypothesis she just had to explore! The signs were obvious! Staring as Varian while he was talking, actually cuddling him after sharing their deepest traumas..it was just so unlike Hugo that she almost declared that Varian was faking it!

“Please don’t yell.” Varian begged, sparing a glance over to Zander. The boy was clearly spooked, flinching away from the odd pair in his chair with a black eye on full display to them. Nodding gratefully, the other shuffled back into his prior position as Varian followed suit and sat back down. “But yeah, he was acting really weird and just..hugged me on my bed. It was..kinda nice if I’m being honest.” A slight flush dusted his cheeks, but it disappeared as soon as it came. No. No no. Hugo was his rival. His enemy. None of that.

“Alright, but it’s almost unheard of that Hugo of all people would act like that. And I’ve known him for years.” she explained, her gaze fixing on Varian, “Trust me Varian, he’s up to something, I can just tell it. He isn’t the ‘good guy’ he makes himself out to be. I would know, okay?” her hand moved to rest on his shoulder, covering the small sun insignia of Eugene’s old Corona High hoodie that he TOTALLY didn’t steal from him. Silently, he nodded in agreement before the bell rang and the hallways flooded with people. “Well then, shall we?” She asked, her arm outstretched. Varian promptly took it and let her guide him through the sea of people in the corridors. 

\---------------------------------------

First period went way too fast, Varian finding himself standing outside the chemistry labs alone before pushing open the door and entering. Greeting him was Hugo, already standing at their desk and giving him a smug grin and wave as he made his way over. Ah. Back to square one then. “Hey there, hairstripe. It's good to see my favourite nerd after such a long, strenuous day.” Hugo lamented as he threw his arm around the other boy, the steel of his arm feeling like a molten iron poker due to the relentless August heat. 

“It's only been one lesson.” Varian complained, pushing Hugo’s arm off him (much to the other’s dismay, as evident from the displeased grunt), and pulling on the ivory lab coat along with his own goggles he’d fished out of his bag. They were the last thing he had of his mother’s belongings - apparently she was a legend in the scientific field, making advanced progress for it before her sudden death. He would’ve killed to have been able to meet her. 

“I know, but one lesson is too much without my beloved hairstripe!” the other whined as Varian’s face took on a frown. Did he always have to be so dramatic? What had happened to the soft, vulnerable man he’d seen yesterday? Still, he sat down and began to listen to Mr Crick as he explained the experiment. It was simple enough - make a compound of your choice - right?

Well, he was obviously wrong considering who his partner was.

He thought they’d been fine, Hugo taking the lead and showing Varian what to do. It almost felt like the sweet boy he met yesterday was back, until the compound blew up in his face. His hair scruffed up as Hugo laughed, Varian rapidly moving his hands to fix the absolute rats nest that was his hair as his partner’s cackles sounded in the background. He’d ignored Hugo after that, a frown covering his features as he pushed the boy away and slumped in his chair, pouting and sulking at the embarrassment he’d been put through. 

\------------------------------------

Before he knew it, he was beside the blonde haired boy again and walking through town. He let Hugo ramble about something or the other, the blonde’s nimble fingers threading through his own locks as he ranted about some girl he liked. Varian didn’t pay attention, somehow a feeling of disappointment and something akin to jealousy bubbled in his stomach. He didn’t understand why - he hated the boy with his whole heart, so why was he jealous over some girl Hugo was frustrated about? He should be laughing because he was suffering so much, so why wasn’t he? He pushed that thought out of his head as fast as he could, his eyes fixating on the floor in silence.

“You had your first kiss yet, hairstripe?” Hugo asked, it was an innocent question, but it caught Varian off guard. He didn’t want to admit to Hugo he’d never been kissed, all that would lead to would be relentless bullying about how he was destined to be ‘alone forever’ or how he just seemed to repel every girl in a two mile radius somehow. He pondered his answer for a minute, not even realising he’d stopped in his tracks. “You okay?” the blonde questioned.

“Hm? Oh, i’m fine. And uh. Yeah, I’ve totally been kissed. By many, uh, many females.” he stuttered. Curse him for being so awkward. Hugo wasn’t going to believe him at all with a stutter like that. He knew he was a bad liar - but geez, this was REALLY depressing wasn’t it. It seemed Hugo thought the same, a look of suspicion taking over his face. “I swear I have!” he persisted as he jogged to catch up with the taller boy.

“I never said I didn’t believe you.”

“Yeah, but your face looked weird so I thought I had to clarify.”   
  
“Your face always looks weird, but I don’t always clarify everything for you.” Hugo quipped, Varian gasping in offence and punching his bicep. Hugo let out a loud laugh before taking Varian’s wrist and guiding him along the street towards a small house. “Here it is. It really isn’t much, me and my ma aren’t exactly the most lucky people in the world.” Hugo added as he unlocked the door and pulled Varian up the stairs and along the hall to his room. “And this is where the magic happens.” He chirped, wiggling his eyebrows in a seductive manner, to which Varian responded with yet another punch to the bicep. 

The room itself just had such Hugo vibes. Post it notes covered the walls with notes about chemistry along with little reminders on them (ones Varian couldn’t make out due to Hugo’s fancy yet unreadable cursive writing). An unfinished mechanical device looking similar to a mouse laid with his stomach facing upwards on the desk against the right wall with a wardrobe beside it, doors painted green and hiding the true color of the wood underneath. A bed pressed against the back wall sat against the left wall, the also green covers in a bundle on the floor, as though Hugo had fallen out of bed and forgotten to clean it. Slowly, Varian made his way towards the desk, before Hugo abruptly stepped in front of him to block his path. 

“Ah. No working at the desk. There’s a surgical patient there at the moment called Olivia, so we’re gonna have to work on the bed. Lucky you.” He commented with a grin, taking a seat. Varian hesitated before perching beside him, taking the books out of his bag as Hugo’s eyes followed his every movement. As reassuring as it was to know Hugo was here, the staring was...really putting him off. It was excessive and happening everywhere - his room, the chemistry labs..hell, even the hallway today as they crossed paths while Varian made his way to math with Nuru dragging him along. It was strange and, according to Nuru, out of character for Hugo to be doing. Varian wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what was in character for Hugo, if he was being honest. Carefully he placed the books on the bed and the pair began to work on their presentation. 

He hadn’t realised it, neither of them had, but by the time they’d decided to finish, Varian’s head rested on Hugo’s shoulder and had subconsciously cuddled against him on the bed. He flushed as Hugo brought this to his attention. “I’m sorry. I’ll just-” Varian apologised, trying to move away before a hand moved to hold him in place. Hugo’s eyes locked with his azure ones in a silent staring match, neither of them wanting to move until Hugo gained the courage. He tilted forward slightly before-

“Varian! We’re here!” Rapunzel called from downstairs, the noise bringing both the boys back down from whatever alternate universe they’d created where it was just them. Varian moved away, Hugo letting him slide out of his embrace as he packed his books and their work into his backpack, slinging it over his back and rising to his feet. With his voice almost a whisper, he uttered goodbye before rushing out and down the stairs to meet Rapunzel.

Hugo laid back on his bed, staring at the glow stars on the ceiling set out like constellations as his mind ran over what had just happened. What had gotten into him? What was the other boy doing to him to cause him to just..act like that? He let out a slight gasp at his sudden revelation. Oh no. No way did he have a crush on Varian Ruddiger. Absolutely no way would he have a crush on someone that was far too good for him in every way.

He thought back to Zander and the rumours of him and his boyfriend. Of course he couldn’t risk that happening to him OR Varian. They had enough going on as it is, so the last thing he needed was for them to deal with that kind of torment at school. However…

..he couldn’t stop thinking about the other boy.

The way that he couldn’t get enough of him. How he explained things so perfectly and not condescending in the slightest. The way he took care of everything around him and was gentle and careful when talking about potentially hurtful things. The way his blue eyes lit up the slightest bit when he smiled. The small snorts when he laughed. He really was falling hard for the other, huh. He was pretty sure his mom could tell too by the way she’d grinned at him from across the table at dinner in a way that told him that she knew whatever he was hiding, even though HE hadn’t known he was hiding anything at that point. 

Huh. He really was in love. And this time, he didn’t hate it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya guys  
> Sorry for no chapter yesterday :(  
> Hope this makes up for it


	4. Dog Days Are Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys being boys :)

It was Friday and, just to rub salt in the wound, the last period was an English exam. Just what Hugo needed when he was looking forward to a weekend of luxury and working on Olivia. His paper sat in front of him, the lines for answers sitting blank as he thought hard about his responses. His eyes grazed across the desk, noticing a small pen drawing in the top right corner, a smile gracing his face. He knew who’d drawn it immediately - Varian.

He hadn’t seen the other boy since they almost...yeah. He didn’t want to think of that and make his face flush in the middle of an exam about Romeo And Juliet, thanks. Still, the other had been supposedly avoiding him the whole time since the incident and he didn’t understand why. Honestly, the lack of hairstripe’s presence in his life was making him feel kinda lonely and combined with his sudden conclusion that he was head over heels for him..he’d kinda concluded he must’ve done something wrong and put the boy off. A cough and a clock tick prompted him to get back to work, Mrs Crick gazing at him before turning back to her book.

His index finger of his right hand absentmindedly and subconsciously traced his finger over the marking on the table as his left hand wrote furiously with a soft smile. He’d really fallen hard for the other boy in the short time they’d known each other, that time exclusively spent studying chemistry. He was intoxicating - one bit of the boy left him needing more and more. In all honesty, he was lying when he said he didn’t understand his part of the project just so he could spend time with the other. He’d intended to ask him out on a date or something, but he chickened out last time. On the bed. And then Varian hadn’t spoken to him since. Did Varian even like men? Huh. He hadn’t taken that into account. With his pen, he began to draw a little him on the desk beside the little stick man Varian had drawn of himself.

He could tell Varian was lying when he said he’d kissed “many, many ladies”, because..who the hell says that? However, it wouldn’t be Hugo’s first time crushing on a straight man (honestly, virtually everyone in this hellhole was straight, so curse the universe for placing him here) and he was too much of a coward to ask. It’s not as if he could just say “Hey Varian! I am deeply in love with you and wanted to know, are you gay or not?”. That would scare him off more than he already had. Maybe he could just..take him out? Take him somewhere nice to just talk for a while and see where it went. Yeah! He could be so smart sometimes, he praised himself with a grin. Finally the bell rang, he handed in his paper and sprinted down the hallway towards the exit of the school. He hoped he wasn’t too late - he was sure Donella would let him borrow the bike for the night. Now all he needed was his date.

\-----------------------------------------------------------

It felt like forever - though at last the weekend had dawned on them. The blessed days seemingly took their sweet, sweet time to arrive, teasing Varian the longer he had to wait. It was agony to have to wait so long for a break. But a weekend meant no school, no stress, no teachers..and best of all..

No Hugo.

Varian let out a sigh of relief at that fact. Thank god he didn’t have to see the other after their..awkward farewell a few days prior. He honestly didn’t know what was going through Hugo’s head or what he was trying to do. Was it a joke? Was he just trying to freak Varian out or something? Or did he really...no. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. In his eyes, they were sworn enemies and all Hugo did was tease him all the time. There was no way Hugo could actually like him, Varian reminded himself as he strolled out of the school and along the sidewalk before hearing a familiar voice yell his name. Brilliant.

“Hairstripe! Hey, wait up!” Hugo called from behind him, the other slowing his pace to let the blonde catch up. Ugh, of all the people it could’ve been - Nuru, Zander..hell, even Isla. It had to be Hugo Atkinson. Hugo Atkinson who became his rival and was making him extremely confused with his feelings towards him with every single movement he made. “I thought I’d lost you, aha..”

“What is it, Hugo.” Varian asked, admittedly sounding more annoyed than he’d intended. 

“Geez, no need to be so rude, hairstripe. I was gonna ask if you wanna go out with me tonight. I’ll pick you up at 6 and take you somewhere nice - my treat for putting up with me for the week. Yeah?” He asked, no sign of ill intent in his face. Varian examined his face. Hugo did seem to be genuine with what he was saying, and it would be nice to spend some time with him..even if he was his rival and Varian was meant to hate him. His head entertained the thought for a moment.

“Yeah, sure. Don’t be late.” Varian replied before continuing to walk down the street. He didn’t turn around to catch the sight of Hugo silently cheering to himself and doing a funky little dance in the middle of the street at Varian’s response before racing home to get ready for their unofficial ‘date’.

\----------------------------------------

True to his word, Hugo showed up at 6pm sharp, a bouquet of flowers in his arms for Rapunzel consisting of an assortment of purple flowers, which she took gratefully. He looked kinda handsome too, his fringe slicked back though still in its regular ponytail. “Oh Varian! Hey!” he called out, a smile plastered on his face. Varian felt kind of bad..he’d put absolutely no effort into his appearance aside from brushing his hair for a few seconds, but Hugo...he’d gone all out. Varian nodded, walking down the stairs to stand beside the taller boy. “We won’t be too long, ma’am.” Hugo commented, gesturing towards a grey motorbike in the driveway.

It looked beautiful the closer they got to it, small dents and patterns over the bike more clear as he strolled closer. Hugo tossed a helmet over to Varian, a smirk on his face. “She’s a beauty, isn’t she? Fixed her up myself. And don’t worry, I know how to ride one of these things, but always wear a helmet, sweetheart.” he said smugly, “Though, you might wanna hold on tight.” he added as a second thought, swinging his leg over to sit down and letting Varian’s arms wrap around his waist as he revved the engine and starting to drive.

Varian laughed, exhilaration and adrenaline taking over and running through his veins as they sped through the city and past houses. Even though Varian had no idea where they were going, he shuffled closer and closed his eyes happily. This was beautiful, the sun setting in the distance as they drove. It reminded him of Cassandra, well, when she lived here before she moved away with her girlfriend Irene. He had to admit they were a cute couple, but he missed Cass dearly. She could’ve at least come to visit sometimes. He let out a contented sigh, his head resting against Hugo’s back as they drove.

Hugo, on the other hand, smiled as he felt Varian’s head rest against his back. Everything was going great so far - now all it had to do was stay like that. Or preferably get better. Either one would be perfect. Pulling into the beach parking lot, he swung his leg back over the bike and let his hands move to Varian’s hips, steadying him as he followed suit. “Woah there, freckles. Easy.” he muttered before taking Varian’s arm and gently pulling him along. He stood, his feet in the cold, salty water before he shot a mischievous grin towards the boy beside him. “Hey V.” he yelled, splashing the other and running. Varian gasped and chased him, tackling the other in the salty water and laughing as it soaked them to the bone. The pair stood, Hugo heading towards a bag he’d dumped on the shore and taking out two towels, carefully wrapping one around Varian and the other around his own lanky body before taking a seat on the sand and bringing Varian closer for warmth. TOTALLY not to cuddle.

They sat together, cuddling together for warmth and watching the colors of the sky blend into a beautiful sunset as both of them joked and laughed between them. Varian’s face flushed in embarrassment as Hugo cackled at his secret he just admitted. “Wait wait wait, let me get this straight. You-you created a whole new element. Like, a legally qualified element..and named it after your crush?!” Hugo asked between snorts of laughter, doubled over and smiling widely. Varian’s face twisted into a frown as he looked at the other boy.

“Oh shut up!” Varian shoved him lightly, Hugo pulling Varian along with him as he fell into the sand and thus the play fighting began. Eventually the pair ended up laughing in the sand, Hugo laying over Varian with nothing but adoration in his eyes as the other boy laughed. Varian’s laughter slowly ceased as he stared at Hugo, his cheeks flushed at the intensity of their staring match before hesitantly, his hand moved to rest on Hugo’s cheek and he placed a kiss onto his lips.

It was a terrible kiss for their first one, the taste of salt filling their mouths as they held each other close. Sand fell out of their wet, salty hair as they trailed their fingers through each other's hair, lost in the moment. It may’ve been slightly awkward and gross, but it felt right for it to be like that. For their first kiss to be initiated through a play fight on the beach as a hue of orange, red and pink swirled in the sky behind them while the sun set. It just fit right - felt perfect to both of them before Hugo broke the kiss and propped himself above Varian, laughter leaving his lips in gentle breaths before he pushed himself up to stand. 

“I..that was-wow. Okay. I..need to take you back before Eugene tries to kill me.” he chuckled at the thought, helping pull Varian to his feet before placing a gentle kiss to his lips. Short and sweet, but telling Varian everything he needed to hear. Varian nodded and returned the kiss before heading towards the motorbike quietly, the towel still wrapped around his shoulders as they walked. 

The ride back felt way too short, Varian hesitating before he ran inside. Silently, he turned around and placed a kiss to Hugo’s lips one final time. “Thanks for the night out. It was perfect.” he whispered with a smile before jogging inside, still wrapped in the towel with the new addition of Hugo’s jacket on his shoulders. As he walked upstairs, he sighed happily and a hand drifted to his lips. Wow. That really happened just now. He really just kissed his ultimate rival. A bubbly feeling built in his stomach as he leaned back against his bedroom door to close it, Ruddiger staying far away from him due to the salt and sand that covered his body. 

He was in love.

He was in love with Hugo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :))) hope you enjoyed


	5. Self Fulfilled Prophecy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugo gets a text

Hugo knew what everyone said about him at school. How could he not? It was all people ever spoke about involving him - how he was the biggest playboy in the whole town and how people should ‘stay away’, though people never heeded the warnings. At that point, it was their own fault. They’d been told about how he was - about his human nature - so when people kept falling for him, they should have known what to expect. Although, he didn’t feel like treating Varian that way. He genuinely thought the boy was sweet and to take advantage of him when he was down wasn’t fair. There was also the fact that he made Hugo’s knees weak whenever he gave him a smile, but that was less important. 

He should’ve anticipated the text from Leon, in all honesty. The boy was always on top of the latest drama in school, and if he could blackmail someone into giving him the inside scoop, he sure as hell would. However, Hugo was sure he’d picked the most secluded spot he could’ve to take Varian for their unofficial date, so how the boy had the evidence they were there was beyond him. His breath still hitched when he saw that too familiar name appeared on the screen of his phone, indicating the other had sent him a picture as rain poured outside on Friday night a few minutes after he’d dropped Varian off at home - an uncommon occurrence in the excessively sunny town of Corona. 

Sweat formed small beads on his forehead as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt and stared at the picture in front of him. There it was - clear as day that him and Varian had shared a kiss on the beach. He couldn’t even deny it either, the picture blatantly revealing his face with a wide smile on it as he stared down at the boy in the sand, nothing but love in his eyes. It should have been a heartwarming sight - to see the moment captured for good in a photo of the pair, but...this was Leon they were talking about. 

Leon certainly was a character. Hell, he was sure he’d just been suspended for homophobic bullying towards their chemistry teacher’s son a few days ago, so to see a picture revealing him and Varian in a less-than-friendly position from the boy who had LITERALLY the most republican parents on earth...needless to say, nausea built in his stomach. Why couldn’t it have been someone else to spot them? Why couldn’t it have just been no one? Why was it even such a big deal if Hugo liked boys anyway? It wasn’t as if he was hurting anyone in the process. Tension arose as a grey bubble with ellipsis appeared in the bottom left corner of the screen. Great.

**Leon : Wow Atkinson. Never took you for one to be interested in someone like that little freak. Guess you really dropped your standards, huh?**

Hugo resisted the urge to scream as his eyes scanned over the message. ‘Little freak’? Bold statement coming from someone who literally looked like a rat that had somehow mutated into a human form. Leon certainly didn’t make up for his personality in the looks department - Hugo felt sorry that his mother had no choice but to love a kid with a face like that if he was being honest. The grey text bubble appeared yet again before he had a chance to type a reply, a frown making its way onto Hugo’s face. Brilliant. The rat-man obviously wanted something from him if he was THIS eager to respond to him. 

**Leon : I’ll give you a proposal. You do me a little favour and I won’t expose to the school about what you really are. You wouldn’t want everyone to hate you, now would you? To think that Hugo Atkinson is just as much of a freak as that Zander kid..wow.**

**Hugo : What is it.**

**Leon : $400 . All I’m asking for so your little secret doesn’t get spread everywhere. How’s that sound, Hugh?**

Hugo thought back to Varian, chewing his nails. Of course no one would think of them differently - Corona was a very progressive town in many ways, but he wasn’t out to Donella yet and had no idea how she would react. Plus, he didn’t know if Varian had told his..whatever Rapunzel and Eugene were to him, and if they’d be fine with that either. He didn’t want to risk either of their reputations being ruined, but it was a massive sum of money to pay and he wasn’t sure if he could even GET that much at all. He let out a sigh and let his head rest against the forest green pillows on his bed, shutting his eyes from a moment and taking a few deep breaths. He just couldn’t risk it - him and Varian weren’t even together anyway. One kiss didn’t equate to a whole relationship between the two.

His mind drifted to the frequent dreams he’d been having about the boy. They’d all seemed so real, raw with emotion and bizarre scenarios that even his brain couldn’t have concocted. They all seemed like they were important - part of something. He racked his brain to think. What if they were a..past life of some sorts? Some kind of prophecy or future life the pair was destined to live? Was Varian really his soulmate or something? Hugo had always thought that stuff was made up, used to convince people with no hope of a proper relationship into thinking there was hope out there for them, but..now he wasn’t so sure. Everything had fallen into place when Varian came into his life - as much as he’d annoy the younger boy, he couldn’t help but fall in love with him. Maybe Varian was part of his destiny?

He shook his head. He was thinking too deep into this. He’d kissed him once after taking him out on an unofficial date. That didn’t immediately make them partners - just showed they were..moderately interested in each other. ‘Moderately interested’ for Hugo being that the other never left his mind and he couldn’t focus if the other boy wasn’t near him at all times. Yeah, it was completely normal. Just...moderate interest in each other! He couldn’t risk people thinking anything different about them though, so he picked his phone up and typed out his response quietly.

**Hugo : One, we had socks on. Not gay. I can get the money to you in a week, alright?**

**Leon : Deal. See you Monday, Atkinson**

Hugo set his phone aside and stared at his ceiling.

Lets just pray Leon knew how to keep a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short!! I kept reworking this chapter, but with what i wanted in it, it kept dragging to over 5000 words and felt really boring to read, so I resorted to JUST this key scene and working out how to break down the next few chapters.   
> Hope you guys enjoy!


	6. A Change Of Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugo's acting weird and Varian is worried he's had a change of heart.

Hugo was acting weird and Varian didn’t like that one bit. 

Ever since their beach incident on Saturday, Hugo had been...way too awkward around him in classes or when they went out. Maybe it was him being dumb - but he couldn’t call it ‘mixed signals’ when Hugo had literally kissed him on the beach in the most romantic way he could’ve. A sigh left his lips, blowing his hair out of his face as Hugo, once again, kept his eyes on the laptop and ignored Varian’s attempts to hold his hand while they worked on their chemistry project. He groaned and leaned back into the pillows on his bed, moving his feet to Hugo’s lap who pushed them off and kept typing. 

Why was he being like this? Did Varian say something to him to upset him? What was so wrong about him wanting to show affection to his...hm. He wasn’t really sure what to call his relationship at this point. They weren’t boyfriends but they certainly weren’t friends, the kiss having blurred those boundaries between them. Had Hugo changed his mind about his feelings towards Varian and he didn’t want to date or anything? It confused him to no end as he stared at the other boy, now leaning back against his green wall, his head resting directly under the shelf housing his prized possession - the Flynnigan Rider books. 

“What’s going on?” Varian asked, propping himself up to look at the blonde with a frown on his face and his head slightly tilted. He didn’t get what he did wrong. What had he done in the past few weeks? He racked his brain to think of everything he'd done. He’d tried to kiss his cheek in the cafeteria, only to be shoved away. Maybe that put him off? He’d attempted to hold his hand under the table during chemistry, but Hugo had pulled his hand away almost immediately. Was that the problem? “You’ve been kind of...off at the moment. I don’t know if I’ve upset you or..” his voice trailed off as emerald eyes met his, his stomach filling with the all too familiar butterflies as a slight smile graced his features. Just the sight of Hugo got his heart racing a million times a minute. 

“You haven’t upset me. I just..” Hugo bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes breaking away from the little battle they were having much to Varian’s disappointment. “I’m not out yet. Not to the school. And after the whole Zander incident and him getting beaten up..I don’t want to risk that happening to you, V.” he confessed, taking Varian’s hands in his own and rubbing the back of his hands gently. It almost sent Varian into a trance, the blonde raising his hand to place a kiss to his palm. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I can protect myself, Hugo-” 

“Yeah, but you shouldn’t have to. I like you, Varian, but I don’t want you to get hurt.” he whispered as he moved away from Varian. “Anyway, we should get back to work on the project. As much work as we’ve done, we kinda need to do a bit more than just a thesis.” His signature smirk fell onto his face as he looked at Varian, and Varian felt himself melt and all of his worries drift away as he nodded in agreement to Hugo’s proposal. 

As they worked, Varian simply couldn’t focus. All he could really focus on was the sharpness of Hugo’s jaw, the glint in his eyes. Were his eyes always that green? The way he clicked his tongue in thought for a few seconds, before continuing to type whatever he’d conjured in his brain onto the laptop that shook in his lap. The laptop which had little stickers placed at random all over the back of it - little chemical symbols such as aluminium, bismuth, gallium, yttrium and test tubes along with some that referenced TV shows Varian hadn’t even heard of in his life. And he’d had A LOT of time to watch television during his break from school. He subconsciously propped his head against his hand, gazing at Hugo with nothing but love in his eyes. He really did have one of the most beautiful boys in the work to be his...whatever they were, huh?

“What will it take to get you to work?” Hugo groaned in annoyance, turning his head to look at Varian. 

“A kiss.” Varian bluntly stated as he grinned up at Hugo, who merely scoffed and rolled his eyes. 

“Using my own trick against me, are we, Ruddiger?”

“Yep.” Varian replied, popping the ‘p’ at the end as much as he could and leaning in closer to him. “You gonna do it or not? Because if not then...good luck finishing your project!” He declared as he rose to his feet, sauntering over to his desk with a smirk on his face as he heard Hugo’s frustrated groan from behind him. A shuffle sounded and before he knew it, a hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled him back onto his bed, shoving him to lie on his back before Hugo captured his lips in a rough kiss. 

This was...very different to their kiss on the beach, Hugo nipping at Varian’s bottom lip and Varian’s hands threading through Hugo’s hair while the assault on his lips continued relentlessly. Slowly, Hugo broke the kiss, bruised lips meeting Varian’s as both their chests heaved to take in as much breath as they could.

“You little shit-” Hugo growled breathlessly before proceeding to initiate another kiss. His cheeks were on fire as his legs wrapped around Hugo’s waist, desperate to pull the other as close as he could. He didn’t want this moment to end ever, Hugo’s weight pressing down on him. However, after a while, their rough kisses slowed into lazy, slow ones and Hugo shuffled down beside them. 

Varian moved to rest his head on Hugo’s chest, the other’s flesh arm wrapping around him and his hand playing with his hair, strands twirling around his fingers as he placed gentle kisses to Varian’s forehead. “Hey..do you ever..think we met before this? Like..we met in another life I mean.” Hugo asked, his eyes focused on the ceiling as Varian tilted his head up to look at him with a confused look. 

“I...I mean I’ve thought of it. You mean like soulmates, right?” He received a nod of confirmation. “I don’t know..it seems nice though. Thinking we were destined to be together.” He smiled as he kissed Hugo’s jawline, his hand reaching to cup Hugo’s cheek as he did so. “I like that idea quite a lot...sounds perfect.” He whispered against Hugo’s skin, him shivering at the sensation as Varian reached to take his prosthetic arm and intertwine their fingers. 

Silently they sat, cuddled into each other before Hugo propped himself up slightly. “I should go.” he muttered, “My mom will want me back.” He kept trying to stand, Varian pushing him down gently and looking at him quietly.

“Please stay.” he pleaded, his hands pushing down on Hugo’s chest and a look of desperation in his eyes. He wasn’t ready to let this go yet - he didn’t want Hugo to leave. Hugo simply nodded and hummed a quick ‘okay’ as he settled back into his position on the bed, Varian following suit and snuggling in closer to Hugo as he slowly fell asleep.

\---------------------------

When Varian woke up the next day, Hugo was nowhere to be found. He’d presumably left during the night, leaving Varian in an empty bed. Well, mostly empty other than him and Ruddiger, the fat raccoon snuggling onto the pillow beside his head which was a less than welcome sight when what he expected was the beautiful face of Hugo in a deep, deep sleep. He should’ve known.

What if Nuru was right?

He’d heard about Hugo’s reputation, but he was sure that the other wasn’t playing him at all. He couldn’t be. Everything he did seemed far too genuine. Far too affectionate to be something that wasn’t true. But...but what if it was? What if he really was messing Varian around and was just trying to put another notch on his belt? He reached out to grab his phone and search for a text from Hugo, but his eyes met a blank home screen, a frown moving on to his features. Maybe he really was as bad as Nuru had told him.

Nuru, speak of the devil, sent him a text right at that second, the usual emojis and all caps typing when she was excited or wanted something from Varian. It was funny really, that him and Nuru had gotten so close in the small amount of time they’d known each other.

**Nuru : LETS GO TO TOWN!!! I’M BRINGING MY FRIEND YONG!!! TELL HUGO TO COME!!! 20 MINS!!! WE CAN WATCH THE FIREWORKS SHOW TONIGHT!**

**Varian : Damn, okay. Calm down. Meeting in the town square?**

**Nuru : YES!!!! SEE YOU SOON!!! <3**

Varian rolled his eyes and clicked onto Hugo’s contact, smiling at the sight of his name at the top of the screen happily. 

**Varian : Hey, Nuru’s told me we’re going to town today and we...kinda don’t have a choice but to obey her every demand. 20 mins at the town square. You wanna come?** **  
** **  
** **Hugo : heh. sure i’ll come and bless you with my presence, hairstripe. Oh, by the way, sorry for leaving. Didn’t want your cop father figure to come and like,,,castrate me or something.**

**Varian : Aha! It’s fine. I’ll see you later <3**

**Hugo : Byeeeeee <333333**

Varian grinned and smiled widely, laying back on his bed with a happy sigh before he stood up and began to pack everything he needed for their day out. He yawned, shrugging the bag onto his back and trailing downstairs happily. “Bye guys! I’m meeting up with Nuru, Yong and Hugo!” he yelled out as he began the long walk to town.

He couldn’t wait to see Hugo again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry you guys had to wait so long for this, school has been a really really big nightmare to try and schedule.


	7. The Rest Of The World Falls Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang is on a (maybe) double date!

Music filled Varian’s brain as he walked down the sunny streets of Corona, clouding out any awareness of the things happening around him as the town centre came into view. He seriously couldn’t wait. A day with his best friend, her friend and his kind-of-sort-of-boyfriend-but-not? Sounded absolutely heavenly! He couldn’t wait to see Hugo the most, even though they’d spent most of the day before together, but he had needs and those included seeing the blonde’s dumb, beautiful face that he missed oh so much. He got so lost in his thoughts of the blonde that he’d almost fell into the fountain embedded in the centre, if it weren’t for someone.

Someone with a very familiar prosthetic arm, dumb smirk and blonde undercut.

“Woah there, short stuff. Almost drowned yourself.” Hugo commented snarkily, though the grin on his face showed nothing but love and affection. All Varian wanted to do was pull the other boy into his arms and not let go, but Nuru quickly pulled him away from Hugo’s grasp to scold him.

“We’ve been waiting forever for you!” she complained, feigning annoyance at Varian’s lateness. His lateness of about three minutes, but late nonetheless. “I mean, really? You need to stop being so late! Even Hugo got here before you, and that’s saying something!’

“Okay I get it. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah Nuru,” Hugo interjected, his arm swinging around Varian’s shoulder. God, Varian loved the taller boy’s warmth next to him. He could just sink into it if Nuru and Yong weren’t around along with a billion other people, “Give our lovely hairstripe a break, he really needs his beauty sleep and his little legs can’t make him go as fast as you want. He’s little!” Varian punched him in the side with a glare on his face, though he couldn’t help but stop himself from delivering another blow at the sound of Hugo’s beautiful laugh and the sweet, sweet smile. 

“ALRIGHT THEN! Let’s go!” Nuru yelled, grasping the hand of a girl Varian thought looked familiar and that he knew her from somewhere and pulling her along down the streets. “Oh, by the way. This is my girlfriend, Isla!” Nuru added, turning with a wide smile and a blush on her cheeks to match the one on her girlfriend’s.

Hugo shrugged his shoulders and moved his arm from around Varian, making the younger VERY disappointed, though he’d never admit it. “Yeah I know. She told me in the homeroom.” He yawned and stretched. “Can we go now? I’m kinda bored and your friend here is pulling on my arm a lot. It hurts.” Hugo complained, Varian glancing down to see Yong jumping up and down excitedly, talking his ear off about something or the other.

“Oh sure we can!” Isla pecked Nuru’s cheek gently and turned, the other’s blush growing quickly to the tips of her ears as she turned and followed after her girlfriend. Yong ran ahead, leaving Hugo and Varian side by side. Varian let out a deep breath and slipped his hand into Hugo’s, the blonde tugging his hand away before shaking his head and walking quietly as Varian watched on sadly before trailing after him, an expression like a kicked puppy on his face as he did so.

\--------------------------------

“Are we there yet?” Yong moaned from Hugo’s shoulders as they trekked up a hill to get the ‘optimum space to watch the fireworks. He bounced up and down, Hugo wincing and groaning in pain as he did soo. Varian chuckled, shuffling closer as the girl’s took the lead to their miniature hike. 

“We’ll put you down when you get there, my god.” Hugo muttered in annoyance, seeing the girls in front of them stop before removing the younger boy from his shoulders. “Oh look! We’re here!” he declared, slumping down onto the grass, Varian thinking for a second before sinking down beside him, his fingers playing with the dandelions and daisies littered around as he slowly, but surely, shuffled closer to Hugo quietly.

The girls chatted with Yong in their lap, leaving Hugo and Varian to their own devices. “So, this is kinda romantic, right?” Hugo said with a grin, leaning back against his palms as he gazed at Varian. “I mean...a night under the fireworks on an isolated hill...kinda cute, right?” he shuffled closer, moving one of his hands to rest over Varian’s hand as Varian nodded and moved into his lap. 

“I can think of something even better.” He whispered as he leaned in, booms sounding in the background as he captured Hugo’s lips in a deep kiss with a hand intertwining in blonde locks and the other’s hands gripping his hips to pull him in closer. Their eyes shut as the rest of the world fell away, the scene something akin to a movie and feeling as though it was just them.

“Oh. My. GOD!” Isla’s happy scream came from in front of them, the boys immediately breaking the kiss and shuffling away from each other with a dark flush on their cheeks. “You two are together! Oh my god I knew it! I absolutely knew it!” Varian pulled his hands up to cover his face and attempted to hide his face in embarrassment. “That’s so cute!”    
  


“Can we just go?” Hugo mumbled as he looked at the floor, rising to his feet and avoiding eye contact with everyone. The girls simply laughed, Yong included, before they too stood and began to walk away from the hill. Varian lingered behind, however, slipping his hand into Hugo’s and giving it a reassuring squeeze with a smile accompanying it. This time, however, Hugo didn’t pull his hand away, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead. “C’mon. Let’s go, sweetheart.” he whispered as they both walked away into the night. 

None of them heard the little chuckle from behind them as they left, Leon chuckling as he scrolled through his phone at the selection of photos and videos of the two couples he’d just obtained. “Well well, Hugo...how about we all have a little fun?” he muttered as he proceeded to share the photos with everyone he could.

As Hugo opened his door, his phone immediately blared with a mass of notifications once connected to the internet. He groaned and pulled out his phone, pressing on one. It opened to a picture of him and Varian only a few minutes ago, sharing a kiss on the hill as fireworks exploded in the background. His eyes widened and his breath hitched.

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I kinda wanted this chapter to get over and done with so we can get to the action - I don't wanna bore y'all for too long.


	8. Officially Yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian can't wait to see Hugo again.

Autumn leaves fell down outside as Varian laid under his blankets curled up and shivering. It was far too cold for him to even attempt to escape the covers and face the bitter weather. He hated the cold so much - it reminded him of his dad and how they’d make snowmen in the snow during winter. It reminded him of the day his dad died and how much time he’d spent crying alone in his room after Rapunzel and Eugene took him in. Winter was the worst season - autumn was just a slightly warmer winter.

Leaves rustled outside of his window, as he turned over in his bed to watch them blow past while the wind whistled a gentle tune. He wished Hugo were here - it would’ve been nice to cuddle with his boyfriend- well. Hugo wasn't really his boyfriend, was he? Sure they’d kissed a lot and shared a bed and acted like boyfriends, but...the other boy hadn’t asked him out yet and they weren’t officially ‘an item’. He did want to be though. He desperately wanted to be with Hugo.

The other boy made him feel...special. Whenever they crossed paths in the hall or their hands brushed over each other’s, Varian’s face heated up and little butterflies fluttered in his stomach. Just knowing Hugo thought of him in a romantic way - regardless of whether they were together or not - was the best feeling in the world to him. However, deep down he wanted to be able to hold Hugo’s hand in public and declare with pride that yes, this magnificent, intelligent, slightly annoying man was his boyfriend and yes, he was VERY proud of that. 

“C’mon kid, time to get up. Hugo will be over in a few minutes for your study session.” he heard Eugene yell from downstairs, prompting him to sit up. Oh! Yeah, it was sunday and Hugo was coming over! Faster than ever, Varian got up out of bed and rushed to get ready, pulling on a random blue sweater and some jeans before fixing his hair. “Get off, Ruddiger!” He scolded the fat bastard of a cat as he made his way over to his desk, waving his arms to ward the cat away. Fortunately, the tabby relented and strutted over to his bed, making himself a little den on the bed.

Varian glanced around his room with a smile as he examined it for any mess to no avail. Turning on his heel, the raven haired boy made his way down the stairs to the attic and across the hall. His eyes kept focused on the floor as he descended the second flight of stairs before making a sharp left and entering the kitchen where Rapunzel and Eugene sat at the table. “Hey Raps. Hey Eugene.” he declared and waved as he made his way over to the coffee machine and started it.

“Varian! Hey!” The overly bubbly woman declared with a grin, rising to her feet to engulf Varian in one of her signature rib-crushing hugs accompanied by a kiss to the temple. “How did you sleep last night? And how was your day out with your friends?”

“Both were fine. I mean, we saw the fireworks which was fun.” He said, shrugging his shoulders and moving out of the hug before he reached out for his now poured coffee and added some milk and vanilla syrup. He took a sip. Perfect. “Speaking of..Hugo should be over soon. So please don’t be weird.” he muttered as he took a seat beside Eugene, the ring of the doorbell echoing throughout the house. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it, kid!” Eugene exclaimed as Varian, rather quickly, rose to his feet and rushed to the door with his coffee cup in hand. Hand shaky, he swung the door open to be greeted with the smug face of Hugo, donning a green scarf and long, obsidian coat that extended down his back. He looked absolutely handsome, a light red flush to his cheeks from the cold air outside. “Oh wow…” he uttered under his breath as the blonde leant smugly in the doorway.

“See something ya like, darling?” he flirted with a smirk as Varian shoved him. The other merely snorted of laughter and walked into the house, following Varian as he ascended the staircases up to his room. Almost immediately, as the door was shut, Varian’s back hit the wall and his lips were assaulted by Hugo’s. He eagerly returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around the blonde’s neck and pulling him closer with their chests pressed together.

After what felt like hours, Hugo broke the kiss and resorted to gentle, fleeting kisses to his lips instead. “I know it’s only been a day, but I missed you so so much…” he whispered to Varian, Hugo’s breath and lips ghosting over Varian’s which made a familiar heat settle at the bottom of his stomach. “Just felt like...showing my favourite dork how much I love him as passionately as possible.” 

“Alright, but refrain from slamming me into walls. You’re gonna give me blunt force trauma.” Varian giggled as Hugo hooked his arms under his thighs and carried him along to his bed, sitting with Varian in his lap before returning to their previously discarded make out session, Varian deciding to push Hugo back after a few seconds. “As much as I’d love to continue, we have a project to do.”

“I can think of something else you can do.” Hugo muttered, laughing at the shove he received. “Ow! Okay, okay, let's get our science on, loverboy.” 

After hours of studying and writing, they ended up cuddling on the tiny bed, legs intertwined and Varian’s head on Hugo’s chest. Humming a gentle lullaby under his breath, Hugo’s fingers rose to play with the raven haired boy’s hair. “Hey Hugo?” he muttered to the blonde, “What are we? Are..are we boyfriends or..?”

Hugo’s breath hitched and his ministrations stopped, gazing at the ceiling. What were they? Was it safe for them to declare their relationship? Sure, they’d kissed and all but there was Leon sharing that picture last night...would that bother Varian? He thought about it for a second. “Do you want to be? Are you sure you want to be my boyfriend?”

With that, Varian sat up and looked at the blonde with the most serious look he could muster. “Hugo, I really really like you. I’m sure I want to be your boyfriend.” He stated bluntly, Hugo slightly taken aback by the bluntness of his statement. Slowly, Hugo sat up and pressed a kiss to Varian’s lips, moving a hand to the smaller boy’s hair and the other resting on his waist. 

Well, who cared if they were together or not? They’d find out Monday. 

Hopefully it would all be a-okay.


	9. Little Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian was lying about why he left

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW - S**c*de attempt, s*lf h*rm and other stuff. If you don't feel comfortable, don't read what's in the italics and if you don't feel comfortable, I'll leave a note at the end to explain what happened in the chapter. Stay safe when you read this please.

As Hugo left, Varian let himself lay back on his bed and let out a huff. Wincing at the constricting feeling in his chest, he changed into his pyjamas and laid back in bed. Ruddiger, ever the saint, sat beside his head and let out gentle noises to soothe him, nuzzling his cheek against the boy’s as he calmed him enough to settle into a deep sleep.

\----------------------

_ Teardrops dripped from his eyes and onto his phone as his breath shook with each inhale and exhale he took. Blue light from the screen stung the already teary eyes, the hurtful words that looked back at him instead of his reflection on the screen made the suffering even worse. His throat burned as he swallowed down acidic bile and his shoulders shook. Still, he couldn’t take his eyes away as the shock of the situation finally set in and his hand flew to his stomach, his gags finally ceasing after a few minutes. _

_ He was well aware of the blood that rolled down his arm, indents from fingernails also stinging and buried deep into the pale, freckled skin that now had an ugly coat of scarlet that concealed them from his view. It ran down onto the bed steadily, not even ceasing as it still continued to run and flow across the expanse of skin and pool onto the sheets. They were red anyway. It fit right in, only a slightly deeper red than the covers. _

_ Raising his head, he looked into the mirror - a true sight to see. Rather than a sight for sore eyes, he looked like something that would make someone gouge their eyes out. He wouldn’t blame them either. He felt like a freak, the weight of his secret almost crippling in his brain. Everything looked wrong about him - the way his hips jutted out too much for a boy, his overly feminine face, his chest...he wanted to rip that off. The material that constricted it made it almost hard to breathe every day, his chest heaving as he knew he had it on for too long, but he couldn’t risk taking it off. He just couldn’t. _

_ Quirin had lost it when he found the last one, so buying a new one would be...too difficult. Well, as soon as the man had found out Varian’s secret, he’d lost it on the boy. Told him he’d ‘never be his son’ and refused to even look at him for a few days. He hated it when he cut his hair, even though he’d always kept it at a moderate length to keep Quirin happy. Well, if Quirin wasn’t going to call him his son, he wasn’t going to call him father. _

_ What he hadn’t anticipated was this. _

_ He only told one person his little secret. His almost deadly secret that he couldn’t risk getting spread because he’d already been transferred from Old Corona High to Saporia High, Old Corona apparently not being ‘good enough’. He’d left behind all his friend, everyone he’d ever cared about was gone and he wasn’t going back.  _

_ He met Andrew in his first week and almost instantly they’d bonded. They bonded over thinking the Corona High students were snobs and didn’t even deserve the air they breathed. He’d told Varian that everything he did was great and encouraged him to do more. He cared for Varian when his father was being difficult and had wiped away countless tears. He’d been there for him no matter what.  _

_ So he told Andrew his little secret. _

_ He’d told Andrew. Andrew swore he wouldn’t tell anyone. Well, he swore until Varian befriended Rapunzel and her husband, Eugene. He didn’t even know he hated the pair, oblivious to the fact until Andrew had forced him to stop talking to them just the other day. Obviously he’d refused - why wouldn’t he? Rapunzel and Eugene cared for him. They loved him. _

_ And so Andrew told everyone. Everyone in Saporia High knew his little secret, which is definitely not what he needed in a school that was almost built on republican values. It ached and pulled at his heart as he threw his phone across the room, it banging against the wall and he could swear he heard the shattering of the screen. It didn’t matter though anymore - not as if his father would have to fix it. _

_ He rose to his feet. He had some business to attend to. _

_ The burning returned as shaky legs dragged him towards the bathroom, fists clenched and locked himself in there, the tears still rolling down his cheeks. He felt too warm all of a sudden, sweat gathering and forming beads along his eyebrow as he heaved for breath and a pain spread and blossomed throughout his chest. He’d closed his eyes as he pulled off his shirt before he opened his eyes and stared at the binder that covered his chest. He wasn’t right. He didn’t know why he was born the way he was. The still shaking hands raised to open the glass cabinet in front of him as he took out two containers of pills. If he wasn’t gonna be listened to, he’d make them hear him. _

_ The next time he woke up, all he heard was the persistent beeping of a monitor. A heart rate monitor. He remembered that from when his mother was in hospital. His vision was still blurred as he looked around the room, faces of doctors with masks and nurses opening doors appearing first, then the face of a familiar blonde rushing to his bedside as soon as the aforementioned door was even the slightest bit open.  _

_ “Rapunzel.” He coughed, forcing a smile onto his features. Everything ached. His stomach ached. He let out a wheezy cough as a dainty hand was raised to press against his cheek, the touch welcome and spreading a cooling touch against his skin. He felt too hot. Far too hot. He assumed that was normal, the humid air of the hospital being uncomfortable. The place was too sterile as well, too uniform. _

_ Distantly, he heard screams of ‘Vivian! I want to see my daughter!’. Quirin. He raised his head from the comforting hand pressed to his cheek and dread filled his stomach. “Please don’t let him in.” He gulped, Eugene moving away from the bedside to stand in front of the door and help the staff holding the man back. _

_ Rapunzel gripped his hand, a poor distraction as Eugene stopped Quirin from entering. “Oh Varian, we were so worried.” The soothing tone of the woman replied, the yelling outside ceasing as Eugene took a glance over. In fact, Lance and the girls were there as well as Cassandra and her girlfriend. A sad smile graced his features as he leant into the hand resting on his face and tears rolled down his cheeks. _

_ “...And for as long as I live, you’ll never see him again!” The finishing yell of Eugene declared as the door to his room slammed shut and he rushed to his side, giving a silent nod to Rapunzzel. “Kid, you’re living with us. I’ll go get all your stuff and whatever you need, I just...fuck, kid. You should’ve told us sooner. We could’ve helped you, V. We didn’t know it was...that it was that bad. I just...fuck. I'm so sorry, Varian. I’m so sorry.” He explained, very clear tears welling in the man’s eyes as he apologised profusely to the boy.  _

_ By the end of the week, Eugene and Rapunzel had helped him move out and set up his room in the attic of their house. He didn’t want to be an inconvenience to them, but the couple seemed to welcome him with open arms as they took him away from Quirin. They’d also arranged for him to start at Corona High instead, having helped him legally change his name to Varian. No one would know other than the teachers. _

_ Thank god. _

\------------------------

Varian woke up with a start, sitting up and wheezing. Oh, that was right. Hesitantly, the boy gripped at the sheets before removing his shirt and the binder residing under it before putting the shirt back on again. Rapunzel had always been sure to tell him when he had to take it off, ever the observant. She’d also always been the one to tell him to take his hormones. He knew she and Eugene loved him even after he came out.

But would Hugo?   
  
Well, that was a whole different story but...fuck it.

His fingers drifted to pick up his phone. 2:37am. He took a deep breath. He was sure Hugo would still love him either way, even if he wasn’t a biological boy. He was still Varian and he was still the boy Hugo fell in love with. Inner turmoil filled him as he let out a determined breath and dialled his number before raising the phone to his ear. There was no going back.

“Sweetheart, what’s up?” The raspy voice on the other end asked. God, he sounded amazing. Guilt still settled in his stomach as he took a large gulp. Shit, he was calling Hugo at 2am. They had school tomorrow and he’d probably woken the other up. Oh fuck, he’d certainly hate him now- “Baby, you gonna talk? I’ve gotta finish this level on-”

“I’m trans. Well, I was a girl. But I’m a boy. Well, I was never really truly a girl, I’ve always felt like a boy and I guess what I’m trying to say is I’ve always been a boy but I have a girl’s body and I thought you should know.” He stuttered out, silence meeting him on the other end of the phone. He facepalmed mentally, wanting to just curl up and die. Was he really this awkward? Why couldn’t he have just been normal and told Hugo face to face. ‘Hello my ridiculously handsome boyfriend, I’m transgender and I hope you love me!’

“Oh..” The other finally said. Varian could tell he was carefully choosing his next words, he could practically hear the cogs in his head turning in the deafening silence. “Well, I still love you and that isn’t gonna get rid of me, V. But thanks for telling me. You’re still my amazing boyfriend and I don’t love you any less.”

“Thanks Hugh. Sorry, I’ll let you finish your game. I uh-I love you. Goodnight.” He replied, hanging up and setting his phone aside as he stared at the ceiling. Hugo didn’t care. Hugo still loved him either way. A warm feeling filled his chest and a goofy grin took over his features as he slowly, but surely, fell into a deep and very happy sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T READ: Varian is trans. He has a nightmare about when he was outed at his old school and then it ends with him living with Rapunzel and Eugene. He decides to tell Hugo the truth and Hugo loves him either way. Sorry for the triggering chapter - I needed to get it out of the way. I hope you're all safe and healthy.

**Author's Note:**

> Me?? Already starting a new project? It's more likely than you'd think!


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